Presidential politics...

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-24-2003
Presidential politics...
6
Sat, 09-25-2004 - 2:14pm
Although a liberal through and through, I am one that believes those who harbour conservative or liberal views should be able to consign such views to political discourse and still be friends. I like seeing discussion between people with differing outlook, and find it healthy. From different outlooks come different ideas, come the best solutions.

Yet, I am increasingly dismayed at what I see coming out of the Republican Party. There are plenty of good Republicans about, including those in office. The closer to the top one gets, the worse things seem to be. A good person, Colin Powell, is all but ignored and marginalised. Powell is a social liberal, and very pragmatic on the use of our nation's power. Instead, the president listens to neo-conservatives all to willing to believe force gets you everything, when all it gets you are death, injury, sadness, hate, and problems.

Now comes this story:

http://www.365gay.com/newscon04/09/092404civServ.htm

Bid Dropped To Remove Protections For Gay Workers

(Washington) Three days after 365Gay.com was first to report that the Bush Administration was trying to remove protections for gay and lesbian workers from civil service labor contracts the effort has been abandoned.

The Social Security Administration Friday said it will no longer attempt to remove sexual orientation from the Administration’s non-discrimination policy.

Bush-appointed SSA administrators had proposed to rollback gay and lesbian rights by striking protection based on sexual orientation from their contract with union workers, an act which would have allowed discrimination, including job termination, based solely on sexual orientation. (story)

The abrupt change came after the SSA was swamped with protests from angry gays and a denouncement from the Democratic National Committee.

The decision was made by Jo Anne Barnhart, head of the SSA.

“This is a victory for the Democratic Party, but more importantly a victory for gay and lesbian Americans against discrimination,” DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe said Friday, after being told of the change by 365Gay.com.

“In contrast, John Kerry has a plan to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act because he knows no American should be discriminated against because of his or her sexual orientation,” McAuliffe said.

The attempt to change labor contracts came six months after the office of Special Counsel which investigates and prosecutes federal government employment discrimination came under fire for saying it would not investigate claims of sexuality harassment.

Special Counsel, Scott Bloch, a Bush appointee, said in February that his interpretation of a 1978 law intended to protect employees and job applicants from adverse personnel actions is that gay and lesbian workers are not covered. (story)

Bloch said that the while a gay employee would have no recourse for being fired or demoted for being gay, that same worker could not be fired for attending a gay Pride event.

In his interpretation, Bloch made a distinction between one’s conduct as a gay or lesbian and one’s status as a gay or lesbian.

After intense pressure from Federal Globe, an organization for gays in the federal workforce, and from Democrats on The Hill, the White House said it would honor an Executive Order signed by President Clinton that has been used to defend gay workers.<<

Is there any doubt as to their goals? Four years ago this president made a big deal about being a "compassionate conservative," and a "uniter." Anyone see evidence of this?

I so dislike hating on politicians or anyone solely because they are not liberal. Yet... we are not talking about nice people here who believe we should say... spend less on a given program than we believe they should. We are talking about vindictive people who are trying to return 10% of the population to the margins of society, simply because they cannot wrap their minds around someone sleeping with another of the same sex. If they don't feel that way, it can't be right, it must be wrong. This truly is "tyranny of the majority."

They don't seem to see the connection between their views and someone being dragged behind a pick up truck. I do.


Edited 9/25/2004 2:15 pm ET ET by rayeellen

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-10-2004
Sat, 09-25-2004 - 4:24pm

Bloch said that the while a gay employee would have no recourse for being fired or demoted for being gay, that same worker could not be fired for attending a gay Pride event.

In his interpretation, Bloch made a distinction between one’s conduct as a gay or lesbian and one’s status as a gay or lesbian.


I don't understand the distiction between the two. Suppose a picture of the gay pride attendee circulated throughout the office. That employee will now be presumed to be gay, and that could be the end on the person's career.

 

 

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-24-2003
Sat, 09-25-2004 - 5:02pm
They backed off that dumb interpretation, but it is obvious with this latest attempt they are not giving up. Expect another push after the election. How hateful can someone be, and the biggest pervision of all is that a lot of this is rooted in religious beliefs... excuse me? Is this what religion is about?

Contrast that story with this one...

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/09/25/national1308EDT0545.DTL

AP Interview: Former President Carter still promoting peace, human rights at nearly 80

DOUG GROSS, Associated Press Writer

As he approaches 80, Jimmy Carter could be enjoying retirement -- teaching Sunday school, relaxing with family and reflecting on a life that's taken him from the peanut fields of Plains, Ga., to the White House and back.

Instead, Carter continues to use his status as a former president to promote peace, health and voting initiatives across the globe at a sometimes startling pace for his age.

"I have been blessed by graduating from the White House at an early age," Carter, who left the presidency at 56, told The Associated Press. "Enough so that I could use the prestige and fame and experience from being president of the greatest nation in the world to have access to leaders and understand the problems that they face."

The majority of the work that Carter does is through the Carter Center -- a combination of a presidential library and a "mini-United Nations" he and his wife founded in 1982 on a wooded patch of land in Atlanta.

Carter, whose 80th birthday is Friday, won the Nobel Peace Prize two years ago. He has remained active on other fronts as well, from his woodworking shop in Plains to the stage of the Democratic National Convention in Boston.

Witness his schedule for this year:

Carter traveled to Ghana, Togo and Mali in February as part of an effort to eradicate Guinea worm -- a painful disease that has ravaged parts of Africa since Biblical times.

He spent a week in June in rural Alabama and Georgia helping build houses with Habitat for Humanity -- an annual tradition he plans to take to Mexico next year.

In July, he joined Carter Center staff in Indonesia to monitor that nation's first round of elections, followed by a vacation in the Galapagos Islands.

He traveled to Venezuela in May and August for more election monitoring.

Last month, he spoke at his party's national convention in Boston.

And throughout the year, he continued to teach Sunday school in Plains and lectured at least once a month at Atlanta's Emory University, where he has been on the faculty since leaving the White House.

He published his 19th book, "Sharing Good Times," late last year and spent much of this year working on a sequel to "The Hornet's Nest," a novel of historical fiction set during the Revolutionary War.

At the same time, he continued to make time for hobbies that include woodworking and oil painting.

"President Carter keeps a schedule that would wear out much younger men and women," said Steven Hochman, director of research for The Carter Center.

What helps him keep up such a pace age 79, Carter says, is that it doesn't feel like work.

"The bottom line is that it's an enjoyable thing," he said. "Nothing that I do is sacrificial."

Since his days as Georgia's governor from 1971 to 1975, some observers have called Carter a micro-manager. He says his later years have taught him to delegate day-to-day duties to others.

"That's one of the lessons you learn with advancing age," he said. "No matter how intense your commitment is to a profession or your current duties, there's always time to expand your life, to stretch your heart and mind and to have things that are much more enjoyable in your life."

One would have to go back to William Howard Taft to find another American president whose post-presidency years were as busy, said University of Georgia political scientist Charles Bullock. Taft, who spent four uneasy years in the White House from 1908 to 1912, went on to become chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Most other presidents "once they left the White House, pretty much withdrew," Bullock said. "They either retired altogether or at least dropped out of the limelight."

Carter's harshest critics have called his post-presidency work a bid to redeem a failed presidency.

Carter has described his overwhelming defeat by Ronald Reagan in 1980 as a personal low. Massive inflation, spiraling gas prices and a demoralizing hostage crisis in Iran left the public sour toward the soft-spoken Georgian and ready for Reagan's "Morning in America" message.

Carter says his work today is not about bolstering his image.

"If I was primarily interested in a legacy, why would I be in the most remote villages in the world, where there are not any news reporters or television cameras or photographers?" he said. "That is kind of a moot question for me."

He also vigorously defends his tenure in the White House.

He helped broker a lasting peace between Egypt and Israel at Camp David, normalized diplomatic relations with China, and signed the SALT II arms-control treaty with the Soviet Union.

"I don't really feel that my legacy needs polishing," Carter said. "We kept our nation at peace, we promoted human rights, we increased the size of our national parks, we tripled the size of our wilderness areas. There wasn't any scandal in our government."

"We had a good administration," he said.

Even opponents of Carter's politics largely celebrate his post-White House work. And in the nations where the Carter Center works to combat disease, broker peace and ensure fair elections, the former president's image has reached almost mythic proportions.

Carter's wife, Rosalynn, recounted how her husband was named an honorary chieftain in one African village they visited. Another granted the couple a patch of land and named Carter a king.

And, Mrs. Carter said, new parents in those areas frequently grant Carter a more personal honor, naming their children after the 39th president.

"We find a lot of Jimmy Carters in the countries that we go to," she said.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On The Net:

The Carter Center: www.cartercenter.com

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Sat, 09-25-2004 - 5:08pm

>Carter's harshest critics have called his post-presidency work a bid to redeem a failed presidency.


ROFLMAO!

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-24-2003
Sat, 09-25-2004 - 5:56pm
ITA... I have to wonder about someone who says such things. Here he is at age 80, out in the world working to make life better for people. He is an amazing person, and likely the best goodwill ambassador this country has. I'd trade our current leader for him in a nanosecond.
iVillage Member
Registered: 06-24-2003
Sat, 09-25-2004 - 7:02pm
Well I must have hit cancel post the first time because my post vanished.

So here I go with a condensed version.

Thank you for keeping us posted on these important issue.

I enjoy reading you political post and I always like to stay informed.

The more we can get the word out the better.

Thanks again,

Laurie
Laurie

My web pages
http://homepage.mac.com/lauriedav/PhotoAlbum1.html http://hometown.aol.com/didoangst/myhomepage/photo.html
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-10-2004
Sat, 09-25-2004 - 7:48pm

He helped broker a lasting peace between Egypt and Israel at Camp David, normalized diplomatic relations with China, and signed the SALT II arms-control treaty with the Soviet Union.


Carter, whose 80th birthday is Friday, won the Nobel Peace Prize two years ago.


The Nobel Prize was well deserved.

 

 

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